Cable bus systems are used to house and route power cable through installations such as industrial plants, offshore facilities, utility plants, electrical arc furnaces, and commercial sites. The cable bus system typically functions to deliver power from a plant's power source to primary load centers. Cable bus systems can be used both in indoor and outdoor settings and may extend in both straight and curved sections. Further, cable bus system may extend in both horizontal and vertical directions so that the required cable can be routed through complex and tight geometries as needed.
The cable bus system includes a cable bus support block that can hold one or more fully jacketed cables therein. The cable bus support block functions to provide strength to the system when short circuits in the lines occur. Multiple cable bus support blocks may be disposed along the length of the cable bus system. In some applications, the cable bus support block may be spaced at two feet or three feet intervals from one another along the length of the cable bus system so that the cable is properly supported. The cable bus support blocks can be bolted to a bus housing that surrounds the spaced cable blocks and the routed cable to protect these components and to provide a structure for attaching the cable bus system to a ceiling, floor or other member at the site. The bus housing may be made of metal such as aluminum or steel and can be ventilated in order to maintain the cable within an appropriate temperature range.
The cable bus system is field installed and thus requires an installer to correctly orient and locate the cable bus support blocks along the length of the cable bus system. Due to various sizes and configurations of the cable bus support blocks, the installer may incorrectly assemble the cable bus support blocks at the wrong location in the cable bus system. Further, the cable bus support blocks may not be correctly oriented with respect to one another when they are stacked on top of one another in certain arrangements. These problems result due to the fact that the cable bus support blocks are different in shape and orientation, yet close enough upon first glance to appear to match one another. Installation time is wasted when installing cable bus systems due to the inability of the installer to efficiently match and orient cable bus support blocks to and with one another. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.